The glass alchemist
by Inquisitor ryke
Summary: Seven years after the promised day, state alchemist Alexia, the glass alchemist, is assigned to the office of lieutenant colonel sebastian carter. Also known as the smoke alchemist, he is the top detective in west city. While alexia thinks her talents are wasted, she soon changes her mind as she is sucked head first into a string of crimes that threaten to destroy the whole country
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: waiting.

Alexia absently traced her slim, tapered fingers across the back of her glove. It was already three minutes past the appointed time. It was like she had been sent here for nothing. She leaned back into the plush, red fabric chair. The room was relatively large. Or at least, it was larger than anything she was used to. It had whitewashed walls, and dark wooden furniture. The rug sat in the middle of the floor, and was the same deep red as the chairs and curtains. Alexia was the only occupant, the slight girl sprawled in an armchair, seemingly lost in it.

She was waiting for the results from her alchemy exam. The exam which would give her the state certification she had always striven for. She had thought she'd done well. She had completed every constructional matrix laid out in front of her, created everything they had asked of her, and shown off her own unique brand of alchemy. She called it glass alchemy. Most alchemists transmuted stone or metal during combat, as its weight and strength served well in that role. Transmuting glass, Alexia had discovered, had its own advantages. She had explained these to the examiners, along with a few demonstrations. Firstly it was fast. Using her patterned alchemical gloves she was able to launch glassine missiles at an incredible rate, or create walls of gleaming glass blades too quickly to dodge, or easily counter with other alchemy. In addition, she had learned to create glass bombs a year back. She did this by transmuting the glass with a hard, thin outer shell, but a semiliquid core. This combination created enormous internal pressure within the bomb, meaning any breaks in the shell would cause it to burst, spraying glass shards everywhere. She had come up with the idea after dripping molten glass into a pool of water. The glass became exceptionally strong, but any damage would cause the glass to explode into shards.

She leaned forwards, elbows on knees and hands clasped together in front of her face. She had to have passed. She had worked for too long, and lost too much to fail now.

She had taken an interest, well, more of an obsession, with alchemy about seven years ago. The day she had felt her soul ripped from her body and dragged, howling and wailing, across the entire country to be sucked into that whirling vortex of despair. Anything with that much power was a force to be reckoned with. A science worth studying.

She had devoted her life to the art of alchemy, as much as her parents had disapproved. She spent every spare hour poring over books of alchemy, or practicing in the back garden. Eventually she started experimenting with her own circles, creating her very own circles and formulae. They hadn't always worked properly, but some of them had been real successes. Her glass alchemy was a prime example.

She ran her fingers across the raised stitching on the back of her gloves. The pattern had a circle, with a series of fractal lines that moved towards the centre. Around the circumference were a series of symbols for heat, and deconstruction. All the necessary ingredients to turn most solid substances to glass.

She stood up and straightened her shirt, tugging the material down by the hem. She bit her lip and started pacing back and forth slowly. What was taking them so long?

She laced her fingers into her red-brown hair. An old habit she had apparently started when she was just a girl. Her parents had always trashed her about it. Right up until she started studying alchemy. They hadn't understood. In their minds, alchemy was evil. Alchemy had destroyed ishval. Alchemy had nearly killed everyone in emestris seven years ago. Alexia had tried to explain. She had told them that the government had changed, that state alchemists had changed. That she wouldn't fall into the same trap. They hadn't cared. They had tried to burn her alchemy books, and destroy her transmutation gloves. When she had confronted them her mother broke down in tears, and her father called her a monster for putting her mother through the pain. Alexia had laughed at them, incredulous. What would they have suggested she do? Stay in grotty old creektown? Marry a shopkeeper and waste her life and talents on raising a brood of children? Please. She had collected her belongings and left, staying in west city and earning a living as an alchemist for hire.

The door opened, and a young, brown haired military officer stepped inside the room, holding a large, ornate envelope. Alexia spun on her heel and stared at the letter with hopeful eyes. The soldier walked over and handed her the letter, then withdrew an item from his pocket. He handed that to her next, laying the small object in her hand.

It was a silver pocket watch. It had the state alchemist seal on the front, and was made of toughened steel, plated with silver.

She closed her fist around it possessively. She had done it.

The soldier cleared his throat.

"The envelope in your hand contains your official letter of appointment as state alchemist, and the silver pocket watch will serve as ID."

He handed her another pair of envelopes.

"Tomorrow morning you will report to the office of lieutenant colonel Sebastian Carter, and give him the larger envelope, with the wax seal. Do not open that envelope, breaking the seal will be punished. The smaller envelope details the location of his office, and the nature of your appointment."

He saluted her, then left the room, closing the door smartly as he left.

Alexia counted to three, waiting till he was out of earshot.

"YES!" She shouted, jumping slightly off the ground as she pumped her fist in triumph.

She looked triumphantly at the envelopes and pocket watch in her hands. These were the symbols of her new office, and the gateway to a whole new realm of alchemy and alchemists. She couldn't wait.

She stuffed the envelopes on her bag and slung it over one shoulder. Then, she clipped the chain of the pocket watch to her lapel, and put the watch itself in her breast pocket, letting the chain hang conspicuously across her jacket front.

She smiled elatedly. She was a state alchemist.

Ten minutes later she was strolling through the streets of west city, gloved hands in pockets. Her apartment was just around the corner, secreted in a pretty nice area, if she did say so herself. The buildings were tall, but well ornamented, and each block had a pleasant ornamental garden in front. She stepped from the street onto the path to the doorway. A sign next to the door read: 363c Argentum street. Alexia had found out later that it actually meant silver street. Weird. She pushed through the heavy oak doors, stepping into the pleasant interior of the apartment building. The lobby was carpeted in a deep blue, trimmed with gold. The walls were paneled with dark wood, about a foot high, the wall above was whitewashed, as was the ceiling. She looked around, then ascended the stairs towards her own apartment.

She ascended the two familiar flights of stairs, making sure to step over the rickety third step on the second flight. The stairs were the same dark, varnished wood as the rest of the decor, as was the carved banister.

She reacher her room, and quietly let herself in, closing the door firmly behind herself. She put down her bag and walked over to the window, closing the curtains. She glanced around once more.

Her apartment was spacious, and well appointed. Her work as a freelance alchemist had made her quite a bit of money, although it was half what she would now earn in the employ of the military. Her furniture was functional, and had an elegant simplicity she found appealing. She had made most of it herself, out of specially toughened glass she had made to be as hard as iron. It was amazing how strong you could make glass, once you started experimenting. She pulled off her transmuting gloves and laid them on her glass topped table. Next she withdrew her pocket watch, inspecting its surface critically. It was brand new, and bore the symbol of the state alchemists on its burnished silver face. Other than that it was remarkably simple in design. She popped open the cover and inspected the clock face. It was simple, and practical. It had an enameled white face with black Roman numerals around the circumference. The hands were stylized arrows, and made of ornately crafted steel. The whole face was covered in a clear glass bubble to protect it. The inside of the lid was electroplated in silver, and polished to such a sheen that she could see her own face in it.

Her face was pale skinned, with finely crafted, delicate features. Her dark red hair hung either side of her face in straight, even locks that pooled on her shoulders. Her eyes were a dramatic sapphire common to emestris. She stood about five feet and six inches tall, and had a slim, athletic frame.

She snapped the pocket watch closed and stretched. The exam had really beat her up. After she had told the examiners that she was a combat specialist, they'd had her demonstrate her fighting style to them, as well as how she used her alchemy when fighting. That had clearly been impressed with her work, judging by the pocket watch in her hand.

She locked her front door and wandered over to her cupboard, inspecting the contents with a cursory glance.

Damn.

She really needed to go shopping.

There was almost nothing left. A loaf of bread, some apples, butter, raspberry jam, and a part of the apple pie she had eaten most of yesterday. Fine. That was dinner. She withdrew the whole lot and dumped it on the glass counter of her kitchen. She rolled her shoulders and popped her neck from side to side. She set to work quickly, slicing hunks off the bread and lathering them with butter and jam. She added several of these to a plate, along with a sliced Apple and a slice of apple pie.

So many apples. Ugh.

Alexia sat down on her sofa, plate in her lap.

Even with all her money, she still ended up eating crap food most days. Guess she wasn't much of a cook, huh. She leaned back, and closed her eyes, breathing in deeply through her nose. It felt so strange. She had been building up to this for so long, trying as hard as she could to become a state alchemist. It felt amazing to have the watch in her pocket. Still, it was unusual to be assigned to a superior officer right away, most alchemists weren't treated like this at all. Lucky her?

She opened the small envelope with the details of her new commander.

Sebastian carter. The smoke alchemist. His picture was of a young man, perhaps twenty five, with medium length brown hair and hazel eyes. He was a detective with the military police. Odd. She hadn't pictured herself the police type. She closed and sealed the envelope, then withdrew her own letter of appointment. It was a stuffy, ornate looking document, with a wax seal and handwritten ink on the front, addressed to her. She broke the seal and opened the envelope reverently. The paper inside was just as high quality, and had a decorative border around it.

She read down the page, a smile dancing across her lips. She found her title about halfway down. The glass alchemist. She leaned back, chewing her lip. She liked it. Simple, memorable, not too pretentious or flashy. She set the certification on her coffee table carefully. She'd transmute a frame for it later.

The glass alchemist.

Oh yeah, she could live with that.


	2. Chapter 2, the first day

**hello again, this is inquisitor ryke. Firstly I have to say a huge thanks to my new story followers, I was shocked beyond measure when I got two follows in as many hours. This chapter will be a little short, but the next one will pick up the main plot arc, I promise.**

**have a pleasant read.**

Chapter two: First day.

Alexia's heart seemed lodged immovably in her throat. Her first day on the job. The deep blue military uniform she now wore was extremely heavy, although, she had to admit it wasn't uncomfortable. Her footsteps echoed out through the corridors of western command, along with the rest of the military personnel in the building. She felt distinctly out of place here, among the steely eyed veterans, and the hotheaded young bloods. She didn't fit in with either group. Not really. Still, most looked at the silver chain of her pocket watch and her black fabric transmutation gloves with respect, deference even. Then it hit her. She was a state alchemist, the equivalent of a major. She simply outranked them.

Lieutenant colonel Carter's office was just up ahead. She gulped nervously. This would be interesting. She rounded the corner and came face to door with his office. The door was the same dark, varnished wood that seemed to dominate local architecture. It was sanded and varnished to a sheen. On the door was a simple sign, picked out in black letters on a white plaque. She withdrew the letter she had been told to give him, and held it delicately in one gloved hand. She rapped on the door, and waited a moment. The door opened smoothly, the hinges well maintained.

For a moment there was no one in the doorway. Alexia stepped forwards a moment, peering inwards.

A face suddenly swung round the doorway, big, dark eyes fixing her gaze. She stepped back suddenly, yelping. The face was that of a young man, with longish, messy black hair and irises the color of coal. His head was cocked to one side, almost horizontal. Alexia blew out a frustrated breath. Damn boy.

The strange boy spoke with a soft, pleasant voice. Like the whisper of wind through grass.

"Sorry, did I startle you?"

Alexia leveled a glare at him.

"I see..."

She closed her eyes a second and regained her composure. "I'm here to see lieutenant colonel carter."

The boy nodded, which looked quite strange with his head sideways. "He'll be here soon, do come in."

She nodded and stepped into the office. It wasn't like she had anything else she had been ordered to do, now was it?

The office was crisp, and clean. The furniture was the same ubiquitous dark timber, mixed with some amount of leather upholstery and polished metal. One wall was dominated by a huge chalkboard, with a tray of chalk pencils next to it. In the middle was a large table, divided into six segments, each with its own set of drawers and storage on the desktop. Three of the desks were populated. Two with neat stacks of documents, pens and ink. All laid out in neat rows, with military precision. The third desk was piled high with files and papers, all stacked and scattered haphazardly about the place. The desks had name plaques on them.

The two neat ones were labeled: sergeant Acker and lieutenant Fletcher and the messy desk was labeled as Cameron.

Alexia wasn't surprised in the slightest to see the strange boy seat himself at the messy desk, the one just labeled with Cameron, and begin to sift through papers, absently chewing on a piece of wood he picked up from the desk. A pencil, upon further inspection.

She sat down heavily in a spare seat. This wasn't going according to plan. She had planned to march in and hand the envelope to carter, quickly and smartly, so as to give a good impression. She had her speech all planned out. It was frustrating as hell.

She cast about in her pocket for her watch and span it absently around by its chain. The weight was reassuring, the way it tugged on her hand. It reminded her of why she was here, and how far she'd come.

Cameron looked up at her a moment, coal colored eyes searching.

"You're a state alchemist?"

Alexia let the pocket watch chain wrap around her finger, the watch itself slapping into her palm. She popped open the cover and checked the time. It seemed the smoke alchemist was late. Only by five minutes, but still.

She turned to look at Cameron. "Yeah, just got my appointment yesterday."

He nodded. "What title were you given?"

Alexia smiled. "The glass alchemist."

Cameron cocked his head again. "Why that title? Does it have something to do with you alchemy?"

Alexia nodded, pulling her transmutation gloves on. She picked up a discarded pen from the floor. It was smooth steel, but the ink vessel had been ruptured. She pushed her alchemical power through into the pen, feeling it change. The pen elongated and flattened into a triangular piece of glass, somewhat like the blade of a dagger.

She showed her work to Cameron. He nodded slowly.

"Interesting. Why glass? Why not transmute something stronger, like steel or rock?"

She scratched her ear absently.

"Transmuting glass does have advantages over steel or rock. For one thing it can be done significantly faster, which gives me an advantage in an alchemy fight. It's also lighter and sharper, so my projectiles are faster and more lethal." Alexia grinned. "And glass is stronger than you might think, I can make glass as strong as iron. Besides, you can't make lenses out of anything else."

Cameron sat still. His face was inscrutably blank, but his posture indicated a keen interest. Weird.

The door creaked and Alexia stood up abruptly. Two officers walked in through the door, one man and one woman. The man was medium height, with a solid, stocky build and square face. His hair was brown and close cropped. It looked like he hadn't shaved in a week. She was tall and slender, with angular features and short dark hair. Her uniform was impeccably pressed, cleaned and presented, a sharp contrast to her more rumpled counterpart.

Following them was a tall, slim man wearing a light beige coat that reached his knees. Under that he wore a black, button up shirt and slacks. His hair was medium length, and combed back across his scalp. The tell tail chain of a silver pocket-watch. Sebastian carter. The female soldier sat at the desk labeled with sergeant Acker, while her counterpart sat by the desk labeled lieutenant fletcher.

The Lieutenant colonel seemed to notice her suddenly, and turned to face her.

Alexia snapped a salute, just like she had been shown how to.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sir!"

"At ease." Sebastian said, his voice even, but commanding. "May I ask why you're here?"

Alexia produced the letter from the inside pocket of her uniform, handing it to the smoke alchemist. "I was ordered to give this to you sir, seal unbroken."

The lieutenant colonel raised his eyebrows and broke the seal, withdrawing a set of documents from inside. He walked slowly over to his desk, sitting down slowly. He started reading the documents. Alexia stood straight, hands clasped behind her back and shoulders set. The smoke alchemist raised his eyebrows suddenly, his expression almost amused.

"Well, glass alchemist, according to these orders you handed me, you are to serve as a member of my team for a minimum of three years. After this time you will have more options, but for three years you'll be in this office, working with us."

Alexia shuffled her feet slightly.

"Understood sir"

He gestured to the desk. "You can have the space next to Cameron."

She nodded and moved to sit at the desk.

The chair was comfortable, with a medium height padded back and leather cushioned seat. She had a sudden premonition that she was going to spend a lot of time in this seat.

The desk was a decent make. It had low partitions around it, and a small box for storing papers in. A small desk tidy held pens, stamps and pencils.

She checked all the drawers and found them empty, though she doubted they would stay that way for long.

She looked up at the other officers.

Sergeant Acker proffered her hand.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Hannah Acker, seems we'll be working together for a while."

Alexia shook her hand firmly.

The lieutenant offered his hand as well.

"Logan fletcher."

She shook his hand as well.

Cameron grabbed a sheaf of papers off the colonel and handed them to Alexia.

"These are requisition forms for your equipment, just read through all of them and sign where appropriate."

Alexia sat the stack down and picked up a pen. She absently transmuted the casing to glass as she read through the papers.

This was gonna be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3, define interesting

**Hello and welcome back the story of Alexia, the glass alchemist. This chapter will begin introducing the main story arc. I have put a fair amount of thought into this storyline, and am quite proud of it. It will not be slow paced, but will take a long time to write, so expect us to be in this for the long haul together.**

**Have a pleasant read.**

Chapter three, define interesting.

Alexia woke up groggily, and glanced at the clock on her wall.

Three hours till work. It was still dark outside even.

She slumped back down into her bed. She had never imagined military work could be so dull. She spent all her time signing papers it seemed. The only redeeming factor was that everyone else was doing it as well.

The first three days had been hell. She was buried nose deep in requisition forms for her own equipment, equipment for the office, and equipment for Cameron, since he didn't have any authorization. He was technically an archivist, and mostly handled the team's work that way. He had a truly strange way about him though. He arrived at the office an hour before anyone else, and left an hour later. He always looked tired, with dark bags under his black eyes, against his papery pale face. Even though he was always working, he always had a huge, ungainly stack of papers on his desktop.

Alexia got out of bed and staggered over to the shower. She opened the door and turned on the flickering, slightly broken light.

She messed about with the tap for a moment, setting the water to slightly hotter than most people would tolerate.

She stripped, then climbed in. The water beat a steady tattoo on her skin, massaging out the stiffness in her muscles. A lot of people hated her shower, they said the water pressure was too high, an it left them numb all over. She liked it though, it helped ease the tension of everyday life and loosen her body up.

She was still unsure about what to think of her job. She recalled a conversation she had with sergeant Acker a few days ago.

Alexia had asked if their whole job was like this. Sergeant Acker had just looked at her a moment before answering.

"No, we're between cases right now, but trust me, you won't mind the boring bits after your first few cases."

That had puzzled Alexia greatly. Why on earth would they ever look forwards to signing papers all day? She knew that carter specialized in alchemy related crime, but how could that be any worse than normal crime?

The thought plagued her mind as she towered off and stepped out of the shower. She knew about philosopher's stones from her old alchemy books, and she knew chimeras could be unpleasant to deal with, but what was so horrible about their work?

She dressed in a soft black shirt and military blue trousers, then her military jacket and long coat tail around her legs. She fixed her hair in a simple ponytail, the brushed her teeth.

She glanced at herself in the mirror. Perfect.

She walked out into her lounge and looked about for her bag and transmutation gloves. They were black silk, with the circle picked out in white thread. She had several pairs of these.

She packed her bag quickly with everything she would need for the day. Paper, spare glass pens, her handgun, some cosmetics and ink. She added her leather bound notebook as an afterthought. Never hurt to have a notebook.

She slung the bag's strap across her shoulder. It was a brown satchel made from tough, stiffened fabric. Alexia thought it looked military enough to be taken seriously, though it was always a nagging doubt.

She left her apartment and locked the door, then unlocked it, and re locked it. No harm in checking after all.

She quickly walked out the front door of the building and onto the street.

She loved living in west city.

The buildings were smaller than central, and lacked the grey monotone of that city. These were constructed as much of wood as stone or concrete. Wood and brick, those were the materials of west city. She looked over towards western command.

That was a building that stood quite literally head and shoulders above everything around it. While it wasn't as impressive as central command, it was still a far sight bigger than anything around it. It had a central section, a large boxy affair with an observation tower in the northeast corner. Out from that two wings extended, each one six stories tall and dotted with windows. At either end was another more box shaped building. Each of these was just beneath the height of the centre tower at ten stories tall. Atop each of these was a small spotting tower in the centre, and five large artillery pieces. The centre tower had six. Arranged around the outside of this were a series of outbuildings. There was an armory, library, archive, a couple laboratories, some warehouses and barracks. There was even a very well equipped hospital. Between these buildings was a pleasant environment of green, grassy park, dotted with trees. Surrounding it all was a low wall, about one and a half stories high, and topped with a parapet.

Alexia squared her shoulders and walked down the street towards the entrance gate. It was a strange experience walking in military uniform. Everyone was deferential, respectful, slightly distrustful. She no longer got the appreciative or leering looks of the workmen, nor the indulgent looks of the old folk. Not even the veiled jealousy of the older women looking at her youthful good looks. Everyone only saw her uniform and her pocketwatch. To them, she was just a dog of the military, and someone to be avoided.

At least her coworkers understood. Hell, they worked for a state alchemist, and a fairly famous one at that. It would be quite strange for them to distrust alchemy.

She scratched her head absently as she walked.

"Wonder what meaningless stack of paper I'll be scrawling all over today?"

As it turned out, none.

As she arrived the door was open. Cameron was already sitting down, pen scratching away at some paper.

Alexia stepped inside and sat at her desk.

"Cameron. Your mess has spilled all over my desk. What the hell?"

Cameron mumbled an apology and began to scoop up his papers. Sergeant Acker walked in and sat down as well, stretching and yawning.

"Alright, we're almost finished with the paperwork. Should be done in a couple hours."

Alexia leaned her head back to look at the ceiling. "Sweeter words have never been said by mortal men."

Hannah smiled and picked up her pen.

The door opened abruptly and loudly. Lieutenant colonel carter stood in the doorway, shadowed by lieutenant fletcher.

"Everyone, pack your things. We have a case."

Alexia sat bolt upright. Sergeant Acker stood up and began to retrieve items from within her desk. "What's the case?"

"Disappearance in the southern district. According to the family members, a piece of a transmutation circle was found on the floor in chalk. We've been called in to consult."

Alexia picked up her bag and rummaged through, stuffing the cosmetics into her desk drawer. She picked up a pen and her notebook, as well as a spare pair of transmutation gloves.

"Sounds better than doing paperwork. That's for sure."

The smoke alchemist nodded. "Agreed. Now let's go. You as well Cameron."

Cameron nodded and stood up. His long black hair looked as rumpled and disheveled as always, but his coal black eyes had a new glint in them.

The five left the room and made their way down towards the motor pool.

The motor pool was a large building near the command centre. As she stepped inside Alexia looked about the place.

The floor, walls and ceiling were all made of plain grey concrete. In the centre of the boxy structure was the western command motor pool.

It mostly consisted of multipurpose, unarmored vehicles. The majority were cargo trucks of one description or another, though some, like the one that Carter was headed to, were more standard looking cars. As she walked through Alexia stopped short, staring at the vehicle next to Carter's car.

"Woah"

Lieutenant fletcher turned around to follow her gaze. "Oh yeah, that's the latest addition to west city's armory, an imported tank from Briggs. Neat huh?"

Alexia nodded, the climbed into the car, sitting herself between Cameron and Hannah. Fletcher and Carter climbed into the front.

Carter started the car and maneuvered out onto the street, flashing his pocket watch to the gate guards.

Alexia hadn't ever ridden in a car before, but found it quite enjoyable. This particular model was boxy, with a long nose and open passenger cell. The lack of a roof was an interesting experience, the wind whipped Alexia's hair from its carefully constructed ponytail to send it streaming out behind her in a mahogany colored banner.

Lieutenant colonel Carter addressed his team as he drove, weaving in and out of the lanes as he headed towards the southern district.

"Our absentee is a thirty year old industrial worker. He was a welder in the car factory on the outskirts. As far as we know, he hasn't even read an alchemy book before. Despite this a fragment of a transmutation circle was discovered in his room. Major Jonathan hunt has called us in to give the scene a look, and to identify the circle."

Alexia's heart beat faster. This was what she had signed up for, not sitting in a chair filling out forms all day.

Cameron sat next to her, his black eyes hooded, and hair streaming in the wind. Acker sat on the other side of her, short dark hair held back with a headband.

Before long the car pulled up outside a house, and Alexia hopped out eagerly. Carter stood up and fixed his coat. He motioned for the rest of them to fall in behind them as he walked towards the door.

The house was small, and constructed of red brick. Outside stood a single guard, with a rifle slung over his back. Carter brushed past him into the building, his team following closely. Alexia stepped inside last, and looked around. The place was tidy, and simple. The decor was a plain whitewash, with wooden furniture and pitted steel countertops in his kitchen. A bureaux sat next to the front door, adorned with framed photographs. A family photo, of a young man with blonde hair and an honest face, with a young, brown haired woman on his arm. She was holding a swaddled baby, and a small boy with his fathers blonde hair stood in front of her, smiling happily into the camera.

Alexia opened her notebook and started jotting down her observations.

Family man, two children.

She looked around at the rest of the house.

Few books, mostly novels and storybooks. Likely for the kids. Reasonably comfortable home, so he earned a decent wage. Possibly a little too decent for a welder at a car factory.

She closed her notebook and walked over to her superior. He was talking to a short, thin man with grey hair and angular features.

"So no known alchemical affiliations?" Carter quizzed him.

"None at all, and I didn't even spot any chalk he could have drawn this with."

Alexia peeked around them.

The man's room was as simple as the rest of his house. A single bed with a grimy white coverlet. It was somewhat rumpled, as if he had gotten out of bed without making it afterwards. No obvious signs of a struggle. Alexia's attention turned to the half finished circle drawn on the floor.

It was a simple, ambiguous start. A single circle, representing power, with four smaller circles around the perimeter, spaced equally. Two were filled with symbols. A wave, representing motion, and a fire, representing power. Motion and power were the basis of every shifting transmutation. That is to say, every transmutation that didn't change the matter beyond rearranging it. The power lines inside were like the spokes of a wheel. This meant that whatever it was would have been a simple transmutation. Alexia's own glass circles had interlocking, fractal line. This represented interlinked, complex, but structured use of power. This circle on the floor was simple channeling. There was more to it though, something didn't feel right.

The lieutenant colonel suddenly appeared beside her.

"What do you make of it?"

Alexia shook her head, bottom lip between her teeth.

"I'm not completely sure. The overall matrix looks really quite simple. But it's too large. A circle like this could have been a third this big."

Carter nodded. "Indeed, I surmised as much myself. Anything else you notice?"

Alexia leaned forwards and studied it closely. Suddenly she rocked back and sat cross legged by the circle.

"I think the circle was disguised sir."

The lieutenant colonel looked surprised at this. "Go on..."

Alexia pointed at the inner spokes.

"You see these lines? They've been broken and repaired, indicating that someone changed them. And this chalk dust on the floor, clear sign of a redrawn circle. I mean, how often do you partially rub out a straight line then repair it? It's far better to redraw the line completely. And by the positioning of the scuffs and breaks, I would guess there were at least two other layers to the circle."

The lieutenant colonel nodded slowly. "Excellent work, glass alchemist."

He turned to Cameron. "Did you get all that?"

The strange boy nodded slowly.

Alexia stood up and brushed down her uniform. "I'll take another look around if that's alright lieutenant colonel."

Carter nodded and motioned for her to continue.

Alexia left the room and shut the door after her. Something felt strange on the handle.

She turned and knelt down by the door. She inspected it closely. It was brass, with a simple round doorknob and discreet lock. On the very edge of the lock was a small rectangle of metal, which jutted upwards from the surface slightly.

A transmutation mark.

"What are you looking at?"

Alexia jumped to her feet and spun around, one hand flying to her chest to lie over her heart.

Cameron stood behind her. His posture was polite, and open. His hands were clasped behind his back.

Alexia sighed exasperatedly.

"How do you move around so quietly? It's creepy."

Cameron bowed his head and shuffled his feet. "I apologize for any distress I may have caused."

Alexia waved him off. "It's fine, you startled me is all." She turned to the lock, indicating Cameron do the same.

"The lock here, do see that mark?"

Cameron nodded. "A transmutation mark. Someone used alchemy as a lock pick."

Alexia nodded. "Yeah, that's some pretty advanced stuff." She shook her head.

"I'll take it back to the office with us, maybe I can learn some more from it there."

She pulled on a black silk transmutation glove, and extended her hands to touch the door. Alchemic light blossomed from her hand and the wood around the lock turned into clear glass. Alexia pulled the lock from the door, the glass sliding from the door easily.

Cameron nodded approvingly. "Hmmm most resourceful."

Alexia stood up, inspecting the lock closer. "Thanks..."

The door opened, and lieutenant colonel Carter walked up to them. "What was the alchemy for?"

Alexia handed him the lock. "Transmutation marks on the lock. Someone wanted to get in quite badly."

Carter nodded, and slipped the object into his satchel.

"Check the house for any more transmuted locks. Any that you find, bring with us."

Alexia and Cameron nodded.

As it happened, only the front door lock was transmuted as well. Alexia cut it from the door in the same way, transmuting a glass ring around the metal, then pulling it from the door.

She inspected the second lock closely.

This one had more marks, radiating out from the keyhole.

"Interesting..."

She heard a footstep behind her.

"Define interesting, glass."

Alexia turned to face Carter. He stood with back straight, and shoulders back. He was flanked by Acker and Fletcher, who both clutched boxes of evidence in their hands.

Alexia cleared her throat nervously. "The front door lock was much sloppier. Probably done in more of a hurry. Why, I can't say."

Carter nodded. "Perhaps he didn't want to be noticed, even a small transmutation like this generates some light."

Alexia nodded. Why hadn't she thought of that?

"In any case, we should get back to the office. You can help me and Acker with evidence review. Fletcher and Cameron, you go over the statements from the family members."

Alexia nodded and moved towards the car, locks clutched in her hands. Interesting indeed.


End file.
